Conducted in July 2011, according to a poll by Albamon(www.albamon.com), an affiliate of an online job portal Job Korea, 9 out of 10 students were unhappy with their looks. The survey polled 694 university students, and among them 93.5% showed dissatisfaction in their looks. 96.0% and 90.0% of female and male participants respectively, replied that they felt a sense of inferiority in terms of their appearances. Nearly half of the respondents (47.2%) replied that their biggest concerns were weight and overall body figure. And this response led female students to feel the urge to lose weight. In order to tackle their weight issues, a total of 47.2% of female students replied they regularly dieted.

And this is only the beginning of the boom for weight loss. It is not an issue only for university students, but a concern for everyone these days. From as young as elementary school students to as old as grandparents, everyone is aware of this big weight loss trend.

Before we begin let’s take a look into history and see how you could be "fat" and be beautiful at the same time.
1. Prehistoric Age (picture)
2. Chosun Dynasty (picture)
3. Renaissance (picture)

Many people regret their fate that made them live in a period where lean is the ideal beauty. But, let’s face it- we are no longer living in the ancient prehistoric days, the Renaissance, or the Chosun Dynasty. We are living in the 21st Century and now the perception of beauty has shifted from plump to lean. Nowadays, people are crazy about losing weight. There are special survival shows for losing weight and even comedy programs that show how much weight comedians have lost on a weekly basis. The war against fat and obesity has never before been this intense. It is now safe to say, “Lean is the new black.” With it, celebrities and the public are introducing online and offline several diet programs in general. There is the Danish Diet, One-Food Diet, Red Ginseng Diet, and the list goes on and on.

However, as for university students, it may be impossible to stick to such diet programs while attending school and meetings, and participating in club activities. There ought to be temptations of eating out, drinking, and so forth. Thus, unless they show a great amount of passion and determination, many times their diet programs may lead them to malnutrition or ironically, make them gain more weight.

So stop searching for popular diet programs, rather stick to what you see on your dinner table. A bowl of rice with vegetables as your side dish beats the so-called Danish Diet. Start by hiding flour, instant meals, and sugar in your kitchen cabinet and fill your refrigerator with fresh vegetables. It is said “Out of sight, out of mind.” Perhaps these simple steps may allow you to forget unhealthy foods and keep your diet healthy.

Sometimes in life all the right things may go wrong and all the wrong things may go right. And in this case, all the wrong things have found a way to work out. On July 2011, American broadcasting company MSNBC introduced a rather befuddling fact about losing weight in relation to the so-called “bad habits” that go against the social norm of a healthy and good habit.

1. Fidgeting
→Increases concentration, prevents obesity
According to a research conducted by Mayo Clinic in America, the results showed that people burn an average of 350kcal by fidgeting, yawning, and stretching on a daily basis. This means that a total of 3~10 kg will be lost in a year. Dr. James Ravin, an ophthalmologist in charge of the research, announced that there is a huge difference in the amount of exercise between obese patients who stay still and those who fidget. So don’t blame people for fidgeting, they might just secretly be trying to lose weight.

2. Chewing Gum
→Helps you lose weight
Chewing sugar-free gum reduces the amount of bacteria in people’s mouths and also whitens their teeth. What’s more, by chewing gum, a feeling of hunger is relieved which is effective for people on a diet. In fact, when people chew gum for an hour, they will burn 11kcal. Imagine the amount of calories you will be able to burn in a year with something as small as a sugar-free chewing gum.

3. Playing Video Games
→Increases heart rate, burns calories
Parents hate it when they see their children playing video games. Likewise, housewives hate it when their husbands spend the weekend drooling and shifting over video games. A interesting study, however, might just make housewives and parents think differently about video games. Research conducted in Miami University proved that the increase in heart rate while playing video games. This stimulates people to breathe faster, and such active process in the respiratory system functions to burn calories. However, as is everything in life, too much of anything might in fact harm you. Becoming a game addict will only worsen your health. It is important that people seek video games as a mean to lose weight and not as an end.